A new method has been developed to calculate protein secondary conformations. Direct interatomic interactions are calculated to obtain probabilities of the various conformers. A selection process based on local equilibrium yields good predictions. Minimization of the total secondary structure energy does not yield as good results. The method suggests the relative stabilities of various structured regions. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: Jernigan, R.L. and Thompson, D.S.: Flexible Poylmers. In O'Konski, C.T. (Ed.): Molecular Electro-Optics. Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1976, pp. 159-206.